DREF Operations Update Costa Rica: Floods
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P a g e | 1 DREF Operations Update Costa Rica: Floods DREF Operations Update n° 2 Operation n° MDRCR015 Glide n° TC-2016-000125-CRI Date of issue: 27 April 2017 Date of disaster: 20 November 2016 Operation Manager: Felipe Del Cid, Regional Point of contact: Dr. Edgardo Acosta Nassar, Disaster Management Coordinator for Central America National Risk Management and Disaster Response Director Costa Rican Red Cross [email protected] (CRRC), phone: +506 8735 4544; email: [email protected] Operation start date: 30 November 2016 Expected Timeframe: 5 months and 15 days (The operation has been extended for an additional 15 days; the new operation end date is 15 May 2017) Overall Operation Budget: 336,217 Swiss francs (CHF) Number of people affected: 50,000 people Number of people to be assisted: 5,000 people (1,000 families) Host National Society: The Costa Rican Red Cross (CRRC) has 121 branches grouped into 9 regions nation- wide. Red Cross Red Crescent Movement partners actively involved in the Operation: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and American Red Cross Other non-Red Cross Red Crescent Movement Partners: National Comprehensive Risk Management System, with presence from all the institutions that comprise it Summary of major revisions made to emergency plan of action: The Costa Rican Red Cross (CRRC) was unable to complete the monitoring and follow-up of the cash transfer programme (CTP) for the food security component and the cleaning of the wells by the operation’s original end date of 30 March 2017, prompting it to request a one-month extension, which was granted through Operation Update no. 11; nevertheless, due to unforeseen delays in the CRRC and the IFRC’s administrative processes, the CRRC could not complete the two outstanding activities by the new operation end date, obliging it to request an additional 15-day extension to complete the remaining activities, with a new operation end date of 15 May 2017. A. Situation Analysis Description of the Emergency According to the National Hurricane Centre in Miami, Hurricane Otto entered Costa Rican territory as a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale (wind gusts up to 175 km/h) on 24 November 2016 at 13:00 hrs. local time, close to the town of Los Chiles. This qualified Otto as the southernmost hurricane on record to hit Central America. Hurricane Otto moved on a west south-west trajectory at an average speed of 15 km/h across Costa Rica before exiting the country at around 02:00 hrs. on 25 November. The rains that fell along its path across Costa Rica triggered multiple Red and Yellow Alerts from the National Emergency Operation Committee (EOC). According to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport's National Highway Administration Council (CONAVI), damage to transport infrastructure (roads and bridges) was initially estimated at around ₡4,734 million Costa Rican colones (approx. 8,8m US dollars); CONAVI reported that the greatest impact occurred in the central region, with 63 damaged 1 The IFRC issued Operation Update No. 1 on 28 March 2017, which extended the operation until 30 April 2017. P a g e | 2 roads, followed by the Brunca Region with 41, Huetar Altántica with 35, Chorotega with 7 and Huetar Norte with 4. Only the Central Pacific area roads remained unscathed. An airlift operation was conducted with Costa Rican, Panamanian and American aircraft arrived on 25 and 26 November to continue with relief actions and food, medicine and hygiene item distributions in hard-to-reach areas, especially in Alta Talamanca and in Pacífico Sur where some communities were cut off. Movement Coordination The IFRC has been in contact with the National Society since the low-pressure system began forming on 15 November. The IFRC has held regional coordination meetings with Central American National Societies and internal Movement partners to gather information regarding the actions being conducted by the various National Societies in the region. A disaster management delegate was deployed to the country, in coordination with the National Society to assist with the activation of the Disaster Relief Emergency Funds (DREF) and develop the emergency plan of action; he later conducted monitoring visits to oversee the implementation of the operational activities. Actions by Costa Rican Red Cross (CRRC) –Response Phase The Institutional Response Committee, led by CRRC's president, national council members, senior management and national risk management and emergency response director, remained permanently active during the impact/response phase Coordination with national Costa Rican authorities, on a permanent basis through EOCs and the National Risk Management System’s Steering Committee. Red Cross actions focused on the preventive evacuation of residents, victim search and rescue, extra-hospital care and the management of humanitarian supplies during the impact/response phase. Local emergency committees and institutional representatives participated in and coordinated actions with authorities and civil society representatives. The National Society assisted in setting up and management of temporary collective centres. In total, 122 branches and 9 coordination regions across the country are active and working on operational, administrative and logistical activities, with more than 1,200 men and women in active service since the onset of the event; the CRRC has deployed logistics personnel and more than 300 light vehicles (four-wheel drive vehicles, rescue units and conventional ambulances, among others), three trucks and one trailer. Red Cross' Emergency Operation Centre was active 24/7 at its facilities in the operational building in the capital city of San José to tabulate, centralize and process all information generated by various auxiliary committees, the National Risk Management and Emergency Relief Commission (CNE for its acronym in Spanish), OVSICORI and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). CRRC's National Donation Collection Centre was enabled at the request of the national authorities. The CRRC provided Restoration of Family Links services. Overview of non-RCRC actors in country Government of Costa Rica actions Red Alerts declared in various Costa Rican areas Activation of Regional and Local Emergency Committees Support to response institutions' actions and coordination Provision of relief items (blankets, mattresses and basic food rations) Reports from Costa Rica’s Volcanology and Seismology Observatory (OVSICORI for its acronym in Spanish) and two meteorological reports from the National Meteorological Institute (IMN for its acronym in Spanish) Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) crews restored electric services from Guatuso to Colonia. ICE technicians in Guatuso worked to restore normal service to Upala and Los Chiles, and normal service was restored to 300 clients in Barra Parimina on the Caribbean coast. Costa Rican Social Security (CCSS) technical teams inspected hospital systems in Upala to determine possible damage. The ban on departures from ports and coasts was lifted on 25 November 2016; however, vessels were warned to stay alert to any changes in weather conditions. The Banking for Development System (SBD) made more than ₡6 billion colones (10.8 million US dollars) from programme resources available to financial operators to respond to the emergency. P a g e | 3 Needs analysis, beneficiary selection and risk assessment Water and Sanitation: Damage to drinking water systems was reported, especially to those managed by communities in the hurricane's path and surrounding areas, including damage to or destruction of water sources, storage systems and distribution lines. Through a CNE press release on 26 November, the Aqueduct and Sewers Institute (AyA for its acronym in Spanish) reported that some 40,000 people in the most affected areas had lost their potable water services; however, tanker trucks were made available to ensure there was an emergency water supply. CNE's Partial Summary no. 10 reported that the flooding damaged 500 wells. Some of the most affected families had access to rainwater and some available water sources in the area. Food Security, nutrition and livelihoods: Hundreds of families in several communities lost their productive assets, mostly their plantain, pineapple, maize, cassava and bean crops. Rapidly rising flood waters prevented most people from saving their food reserves and farming implements, which has made it more difficult for these families to recover their livelihoods because their physical, financial and natural capital has been severely affected. Households' financial security has been seriously compromised for the next few months due to the loss of their livelihoods, the need to replace their productive assets, and the school fees they had to pay in January and February 2017. Livelihoods actions considered in emergency and recovery activities have had to consider the migrant populations located in coastal and border areas. The current food collection campaign coordinated by the CRRC was able to cover communities' immediate food needs for the first 45 days; however, cash transfer programmes had to be considered so as not to affect local businesses and revive the local economy, thus contributing to a rapid recovery by local markets. Shelter: The devastation, landslides and floods in the wake of the hurricane left houses with no roofs, damaged, and even destroyed. Those who lost their homes entirely will receive support in the form of State